In recent years, a television receiver, a recording and reproducing apparatus, a personal computer, and the like have often been connected together via a network to construct a network environment in which, for example, the personal computer can remotely control the television receiver and the recording and reproducing apparatus. When such a network environment called, for example, a home network, is constructed, a user can use a personal computer carried by the user, even from outside the home to perform an operation for newly reserving programmed recording or changing or deleting the programmed recording in the recording and reproducing apparatus via the Internet.
Furthermore, sophisticated mobile phone models have recently prevailed widely which provide a browser function to allow Web pages to be browsed, a player function to allow music data and motion picture data to be reproduced, a TV function to allow one-segment broadcasting to be viewed, and the like. Mobile phones have also been significantly improved in operability owing to, for example, a touch panel mounted in the mobile phone so as to overlap a display. Thus, there has been a growing demand to operate a television receiver and a recording and reproducing apparatus using a mobile phone instead of remote controllers attached to the television receiver and the recording and reproducing apparatus.
Furthermore, the remote controllers attached to the television receiver and the recording and reproducing apparatus include fixedly arranged operation buttons. In contrast, the mobile phone with the touch panel mounted therein so as to overlap the display enables the arrangement of operation buttons (which are shown on the display) to be dynamically controlled. Thus, to utilize this characteristic to allow the television receiver and the recording and reproducing apparatus to be remotely controlled, a mechanism has been desired to be provided which allows the arrangement of the operation buttons to be adaptively customized depending on, for example, each user's operational status.